Here are the 10 most common vehicle repairs:
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- Oxygen sensor replacement
- Catalytic converter replacement
- Ignition coil replacement
- Fuel cap tightening or replacement
- Thermostat replacement
- Spark plug replacement
- Airflow sensor replacement
- Spark plugs replacements
- Evaporative emission purge control valve replacement
- Evaporative emission purging solenoid replacement
Learning one or two things at a time about your vehicle helps you prevent major complications. In addition, understanding what to expect, especially on car problems, can help you prevent surprises at the mechanic shop.
Vehicles are not designed to last forever, and there will be a point in time where one or more components will go bad. When this happens, you got to take care of this component and replace it immediately. Otherwise, you might deal with further complications that will cost you a lot of money.
Some car problems are expected to happen and occur more frequently than others. Learning about these problems helps you become proactive and prepares you for when to deal with them and what to do next.
This article provides a detailed summary of the 10 most common vehicle repairs. We highly encourage you to go through the details of each of them, especially to understand repair costs and the complexity of the problem to determine whether you have to fix it immediately.
10 most common vehicle repairs
Automotive experts continuously review vehicle problems and report certain statistics about these problems. One of the best conclusions of these statistics and studies is a list of the most common vehicle repairs that you might come across.
Let's take a closer look at the 10 most common vehicle repairs:
1. Oxygen sensor replacement
The oxygen sensor is responsible for determining how much oxygen is not burnt and escaping through the exhaust emission. Understanding the level of oxygen in the exhaust helps your computer in the vehicle understand whether the combustion process was complete or not. It also triggers some other information about whether there is something wrong going on in the combustion process or not.
Unfortunately, the oxygen sensor is one of the most susceptible to damage, which means you get out replaced between now and then. Unfortunately, there aren't many symptoms that could tell you that the oxygen sensor is going bad, especially the one related to the light illuminating the check engine.
The oxygen sensor is expected to last between 30,000 and 50,000 miles. However, it might go bad prematurely, depending on your vehicle's condition. To replace the oxygen sensor, expect to pay between $329 and $379.
2. Catalytic converter replacement
The Catalytic converter is a core component responsible for ensuring that your emissions coming out of the combustion process are good enough to escape to the atmosphere without hurting the environment.
If your catalytic converter fails, your vehicle will not pass the emission test, requiring a significant repair cost. The good news is that the catalytic converter is a durable component that lasts up to 10 years in most cars. However, that might not be the case, depending on your vehicle's type and the converter quality.
Replacing the catalytic converter is expensive, and it should cost you between $945 and $2475! That's why many customers who had to deal with a bad catalytic converter replaced the whole vehicle instead of wasting their time, energy, and money. Therefore, it's important to evaluate whether it's worth installing a new catalytic converter in your car or not.
If you figure that repair costs are piling up and you are at a point where you want to sell your car, there are very limited options because most private buyers and dealerships will not provide you with the best offer assuming that they will even accept your car. However, cash car buyers are always here to buy any vehicle, no matter what side or condition.
3. Ignition coil replacement
The ignition coil is a minor component inside your combustion system. It is responsible for communicating with your spark plug and letting it know it's time to fire. When the ignition coil does not work, you will not have a working car because the engine will not generate any energy.
Of course, they're multiple ignition coils around your combustion system, considering that the engine will have more than one ignition coil. Still, you will notice a significant difference in your vehicle's behavior when at least one ignition coil goes bad.
The mission coil is expected to last for up to 100,000 miles. After that, however, it might go bad prematurely, and when this happens, you have to replace it to maintain your vehicle's operation.
Replacing the ignition coil is not a very expensive repair, and it should cost you between $209 and $278. However, keep in mind that if you ignore a problem with the ignition coil, it could easily evolve and becomes more complicated to require thousands of dollars to repair.
4. Fuel cap tightening or replacement
Believe it or not, the fuel cap might be a source of many problems in your car that you might overestimate. Many drivers were very frustrated to discover that all their vehicle problems had to do with a loose fuel cap!
It's very common for your vehicle's computer to complain about a loose fuel cap and all that it takes is to tie it up. However, if the fuel cap is broken, you have to replace it to get rid of this error in your vehicle's computer.
Unsurprisingly, replacing the fuel cap is one of the cheapest repairs. It shouldn't cost you more than $16 for most vehicles. However, keep in mind that you have to consider labor costs. If you don't have the skills to replace the fuel cap yourself, your liver cost can be a big component if you decide to go to a dealership, and it might be minor if you decide to go with a small independent shop.
The other thing to consider is the waiting time. In other words, you don't want to wait for a whole day, just a blazer fuel cap, and therefore, we're handling courage you to schedule an appointment with a mechanic and tell them exactly that's all you're dealing with a bad fuel cap.
5. Thermostat replacement
The thermostat is a significantly important component of your vehicle cooling system. It is responsible for letting your coolant run when the engine temperature exceeds a certain threshold.
It's very common for the thermostat to go bad. It could either get stuck closed or stop opening when it goes bad. Both scenarios are not good, but if the thermostat gets stuck closed, that's where you're dealing with a significant severe problem. When the thermostat is stuck closed, it prevents any coolant from running around the engine, which means significant engine overheating leads to engine self-destruction.
The thermostat is also durable and is expected to last up to 10 years. However, you will deal with other complications in this thermostat at different times and during your vehicle’s lifespan.
The good news is that replacing your vehicle's thermostat does not cost you money. It's typically ranging between $140 and $300. However, you cannot ignore a bad thermostat because it can easily lead to other complications that will cost you a lot of money if it is possible to fix your car.
6. Spark plug replacement
The spark plug is an essential component in your vehicle's combustion system. It is responsible for providing that required spark to ignite the air and fuel mixture. If there is no spark plug working properly in your car, your vehicle won't burn the air-fuel mixture, and therefore, the engine will not generate any energy.
The spark plug is very durable and doesn't go bad that fast, especially if you have high-quality spark plugs in your car. However, when it goes bad, you got to take care of the problem and replace it immediately.
While the spark plugs might last up to 20,000 miles, there will be a point of time where you have to replace them. Unfortunately, replacing the spark plug requires somewhere between $16 and $100 depending on the quality of the spark plug, and you got to multiply this number by the number of failing spark plugs in your vehicle.
7. Airflow sensor replacement
The airflow sensor is another component that might go bad more often than other components in any vehicle. It is responsible for monitoring how much oxygen is getting inside the combustion system. When the airflow sensor doesn't work properly, your computer will not understand what enough air inside the combustion system is.
One of the very common complications of a bad airflow sensor is a check engine light illuminating due to engine misfiring and other complications that will make it hard to fix your vehicle if ignored for a long time.
Their full sensor should not go bad that often in typical situations. However, it might fail prematurely and before it hits the 10-year lifespan of the airflow sensor. The airflow sensor should cost you between $10 and $330, depending on the quality of the Airflow sensor and your vehicle site.
8. Spark plugs, wires replacements
Sometimes your spark plugs might be in good condition. However, there might be a problem in the connections and the wiring around the spark plug, which means no spark is going to be transferred into the combustion system where the air-fuel mixture gets burnt pure
Unfortunately, if the problem is wire issues, you got out of place immediately because there's no way to workaround. However, replacing the wires is not very expensive; it should cost you somewhere between $190 and $229.
9. Evaporative emission purge control valve replacement
The evaporative emission purge control system is responsible for taking any fuel that was not burned in the combustion system and recirculating it for your vehicle to use again. This system contains different interacting components, and any of them could go bad, impacting your vehicles for four months.
One of the very common problems of this system is a bad valve. The valve is responsible for letting these emissions flow towards the designated destination, and when the valve goes bad, you must replace it.
Replacing this valve should cost between $151 and $172.
10. Evaporative emission purging solenoid replacement
The same system also contains a specific solenoid responsible for telling the EVAP system when to purge. When this solenoid goes bad, the system will be impacted, and your vehicle will complain.
To replace this solenoid, expect to pay between $80 and $200.
Final thoughts
Dealing with car problems is a very common situation, and you have to deal with those problems at some point in your vehicle's lifespan. Understanding what to expect next help, you become prepared and understands what to plan for in terms of repair costs.
This article provided a detailed summary of the 10 most common vehicle repairs. We also provide you with information about when to expect these repairs and how much it will cost you to take care of them.
As you noticed before, some of their costs can be significant, especially if you're looking for catalytic converter replacement. So if that's the case, we highly encourage you to evaluate your situation and determine whether it's worth fixing your car or not. If you decide to sell your vehicle, cash car buyers are always here to help you!
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